REDD+ supply and demand 2015-2025

Summary

Forest loss in developing countries represents a significant contribution to global emissions along with significant climate change mitigation potential. How Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries; and the Role of Conservation, Sustainable Management of Forests, and Enhancement of Forest Carbon Stocks (REDD+) will be incentivized in a future climate agreement is still being negotiated under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

One option to incentivize REDD+ is the use of carbon markets that provide economic benefits to those who reduce emissions. A voluntary market for forest credits started in the 1990s and has grown during the last decade. Bilateral and multilateral initiatives also are piloting market mechanisms and non-market results-based payments for emission reductions. This report develops a bottom-up analysis of supply using existing REDD+ projects and jurisdictional programs. It compares this supply to three scenarios of demand for REDD+ credits based on existing and emerging voluntary, regulatory and results-based payment programs.